Winterizing my Wardrobe with Nate Berkus

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to appear in a Nate Berkus show segment with Dannielle Kyrillos called “Instant Wardrobe Updates”.

The producer called me the week before and asked me to arrive at the CBS studios in very specific attire: Cardigan and shell set, pencil skirt and pumps. I quickly agreed (because YAY! Nate Berkus!) even though those items have never, ever been in my repertoire. I rushed out to SoHo and picked up a few of these items and braced myself for the following day. I didn’t know what exactly I would be doing on the show, but the idea was that they would be pulling me “randomly” from the audience and giving me a make over.

I was legitimately nervous, but mostly excited when the driver picked me up. I didn’t really know what I was in for, but it was too neat of an opportunity to pass up.

When we arrived, I was ushered into a room with the other two girls that would be in the segment with me. One of the highlights of the day was meeting Dannielle, who is the editor over at Daily Candy and a judge on Top Chef Just Desserts.

I went immediately to the hair and makeup room where they glammed me up a bit (fortunately for me, this was supposed to happen AFTER the “makeover”). It didn’t take long for the producers to decide that what I came to the studio wearing was not suitable, so they sent someone over to Daffy’s to find something nice and drab, and snatched the pashmina off of one of the poor, freezing stage hands.

The segment itself went much better than I anticipated. Lets just say I was much more comfortable on camera than I ever expected. My heart was beating out of my chest and I felt as though I might vomit-until it was my turn to take the mic. I may or may not have raised the roof when the audience hollered at my “California girl” reference. Lucky for me- you’ll never know! This clip only shows the second half of the segment.

From dumpy to chic in nothing flat.

Yes, I almost fell walking down the stairs in those God-forsaken heels. The producer gave me a high five and a nice vote of confidence as I made my way back stage “You totally almost bailed on the stairs! I totally saw that. HAHA!”. Nice.

Anyway, all in all it was a fun experience. It was neat for my kids and extended family around the country to see me on television, and I even watched it one time through parted fingers.

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16 Comments

Love it! How exciting. Thanks for sharing and isn’t it fun that you actually had to go get something drab to wear. You must have a fabulous wardrobe. Good for you mamma. So many moms think they have to dress “mom style”. Don’t even know exactly what that means.

Sheesh lady yuo are one sexy mama! Looks like so much fun! I’m glad you had such a good time. I did think it was funny that he reminded people that these were the outfits you came in with. Hehe – little did he know some intern was freezing without her pashmina huh?

OhdearGOD they put you in BLUE SHOES with that outfit?
Hi-freaking-LARIOUS! I too love that you had to go out specifically to buy something drab and they though you could still do with a makeunder beforehand, loL!

Wow very cool! I watch that show every morning! Who knew they staged all those “random” guest makeovers? A little disappointed that the magic is gone, but totally tripping on how cool this must have been. Love it!

Thanks for sharing the behind the scenes!! You were smokin’ before and AFTER their make-under… and I THOUGHT that outfit was a little un-Jessica, even though you looked gorgeous! So fun, cannot wait until the next crazy bit of awesomeness to come your way!

Jessica Shyba

Author of Momma's Gone City and popular internet sensation Theo & Beau, has been blogging since 2009. The original intent was to simply stay in touch with friends as the family embarked in a cross-country move from California to New York City, a move prompted by her husband attending dental school at NYU. The family has since returned to California and grown to include 4 children; Jack, Zoe, Beau, and very recently, Evangeline -- as well as a cat named Charlie and a puppy named Theo. The budding friendship between the baby Beau & puppy Theo catapulted Jessica's blog & Instagram into international fame when she started documenting their daily side-by-side naps. Along with that fame, came opportunities for sponsorships on Momma's Gone City, and a book deal which allowed Jessica to showcase her writing & photography.